German Patient Walks Again with Patient-Specific 3D-Printed Hip Implant.

German patient Inge W. had been afflicted with a hip malformation since her birth. Due to an extensive number of intense surgeries and revisions throughout her life, there was very little bone left in her pelvic region, leaving a large hole in the bone and making it very difficult to attach a standard hip implant. As her condition grew worse, it seemed that Inge had no other choice but to be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Fortunately, she was able to walk again with the help of a patient-specific 3D-printed hip implant. She approached the Helios ENDO-Klinik in Hamburg, Germany, Europe’s leading hospital in hip and knee surgery, to see if they could offer an alternative. After visiting with Dr. Thorsten Gehrke, the Medical Director of the clinic, it was clear that there was only one solution: a patient-specific hip implant, made-to-measure so it could fit the remaining bone perfectly. Dr. Gehrke turned to the 3D Printing expertise of Materialise for help with the case. First of all, a 3D model of Inge’s pelvis was digitally reconstructed, and then printed out. It helped to make the surgical procedure clear to Inge, and calm her fears – fears which were understandable, given that this was the tenth operation she would undergo on her hip! The 3D-printed model of her hip also played an even more important role in helping the surgeons at Helios ENDO-Klinik to plan the surgery and visualize the steps they needed to take to introduce the implant as accurately as possible. And finally, the implant itself was also constructed with 3D Printing using the Materialise aMace Integrated System; 3D-printed in titanium, the implant is completely adapted to the patient’s anatomy, ensuring a perfect fit and a much smaller risk of dislocation and impingement. During the operation, the surgeons were also able to place the aMace acetabular revision system and insert the screws as accurately as possible due to the implant trial and bone model we provided along with the 3D-printed hip implant. Furthermore, the 3D-printed drill guides enabled them to drill exactly where the screws needed to fix the implant in place. Therefore, it assured optimal mechanical stability and prevented the accelerated wear and early failure of the implant. Five months after Inge’s pelvic reconstruction, she is making a great recovery and can now walk completely unaided. We hope she continues to enjoy the use of her hip for many years! Contributed by medical 3Dprinting by materialise

JOHNSON & JOHNSON ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH HP TO CREATE PERSONALIZED 3D PRINTED HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS.

3D printing technology offers a wide range of personalization and customization options that are impossible with traditionally manufactured products. We’re already seeing some of the first custom 3D printed consumer products making their way to market, including shoes, sports equipment, eyeglasses and even earbuds. All of these products can be made for a specific user’s body, optimizing the technology to work for an individual, not an average user as with most mass produced products. A more exciting, and potentially world-changing application of customized 3D printed products is the ability to manufacture life-saving medical devices and assistive technology to suit an individual user’s needs. As one of the largest pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in the world, the products that Johnson & Johnson develops will be made available in more than 175 different countries all over the globe. So when they decide to develop ways to integrate 3D printing technology into their business, it isn’t just their own company that will be changed, but as their competitors try to keep up with them, their entire industry will change. This week Johnson & Johnson is announcing a broad and wide-reaching collaboration with a 3D printing subsidiary of HP Inc. The goal of the partnership between Johnson & Johnson and HP is to find ways to implement new 3D printing technology that will help them develop better healthcare outcomes for patients, consumers and health care providers while reducing costs. The two companies plan to combine their scientific, clinical, material science and technological know-how to develop a series of consumer products, medical solutions and medical devices that can be manufactured fast. 3D printing will allow them to develop products that have been customized for individual patients and consumers based on their specific needs. “Advances in 3D printing technology have the potential to break historical paradigms of health care delivery in ways that are not feasible in traditional manufacturing processes. Together with Johnson & Johnson we have the potential to create opportunities and innovations in health care to improve patients’ lives that neither company could develop alone,” explained Stephen Nigro, president of HP’s 3D printing business. While the collaboration was just announced yesterday, the partnership has actually already begun, and teams of experts brought together from both companies are working together on new medical products and solutions. In the early stages of the partnership they will focus on the personalization of instrumentation and software used to operate patient-specific medical devices. However they expect that their collaboration will lead to 3D printing applications that will innovate solutions and devices in orthopedics and eye health, not to mention new, cutting edge consumer products. culled from 3Dprint.com

skin track;turning your skin to a touchscreen.

A lab at Carnegie Mellon University has made a device that turns the wearer's skin to act as a touchscreen. The Future Interfaces Group, part of the university, have created 'SkinTrack', which "enabled continuous tracking on the skin". A ring, worn on the non-watch hand, emits a "high frequency AC signal" that connect to a sensing wristband, much like the strap of a traditional smartwatch, which is fitted with electrodes.When the ring finger touches the watch-wearing hand, a signal is sent to the watch and allows wearers to navigate their device using their skin. A number of commands are also possible - you can sign documents, for example, and tracing particular letters will bring up particular apps, for example ('E' for email or 'F' for Facebook). Users can also drag apps off of their device and onto their skin, creating "spatial shortcuts", as well as play games, using their finger and arm as controls. The team hopes that it could be used in future development of smartwatches because it is "compact, non-invasive, low-cost and low-powered." The team envision the technology being integrated into future smartwatches, supporting rich touch interactions beyond the confines of the small touchscreen. read more at wired.co.uk